Although I have never been there, I thought the Mullins Arena at U Mass Amherst
was Olympic-sized.  In fact I thought they had two sheets of ice that were
Olympic-sized, with the adjoining practice ice the same dimensions.
 
Also, the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany can be configured for Olympic-size.
It was changed by now-convicted Albany County executive Jim Coyne to allow the
US Olympic team a home venue where they could face international opponents.  Of
course the US Olympic team only played on the ice once.  Since then to my
knowledge the Olympic sheet has never been used, even for the NC$$ events.  The
excuse is that the AHL River Rats will not play at the increased dimensions,
but that's pretty lame, IMO.  If the Rats want to play in a smaller rink all
they have to do is move in the boards.  The real reason is obviously money.  It
would be nice though if they would consider playing the East Regionals on the
big sheet, but I doubt it.
 
Albany Co. also built an Olympic-sized practice rink for the Olympic team, which
was similarly never-used.  My son now gets to use it for his practices, and
really gets winded trying to skate end-to-end!
**********************************************************************
Brian Morris            Go RPI!  Home ice, please?
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